Competencies for Code Review

Gonçalves, P. W., Çalıklı, G. , Serebrenik, A. and Bacchelli, A. (2023) Competencies for Code Review. In: 26th ACM Conference On Computer-Supported Cooperative Work And Social Computing (CSCW2023), Minneapolis, MN, USA, 13-18 October 2023, pp. 1-33. (doi: 10.1145/3579471)

Abstract

Peer code review is a widely practiced software engineering process in which software developers collaboratively evaluate and improve source code quality. Whether developers can perform good reviews depends on whether they have sufficient competence and experience. However, the knowledge of what competencies developers need to execute code review is currently limited, thus hindering, for example, the creation of effective support tools and training strategies. To address this gap, we firstly identified 27 competencies relevant to performing code review through expert validation. Later, we conducted an online survey with 105 reviewers to rank these competencies along four dimensions: frequency of usage, importance, proficiency, and desire of reviewers to improve in that competency. The survey shows that technical competencies are considered essential to performing reviews and that respondents feel generally confident in their technical proficiency. Moreover, reviewers feel less confident in how to communicate clearly and give constructive feedback - competencies they consider like-wise an essential part of reviewing. Therefore, research and education should focus in more detail on how to support and develop reviewers' potential to communicate effectively during reviews. In the paper, we also discuss further implications for training, code review performance assessment, and reviewers of different experience level.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Additional Information: P. Wurzel Gonçalves and A. Bacchelli gratefully acknowledge the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation through the SNF Project No. PP00P2_170529. Published in Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 7, Issue CSCW1, Article No. 38, pp 1–33.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Calikli, Dr Handan Gul
• Authors: Gonçalves, P. W., Çalıklı, G., Serebrenik, A., and Bacchelli, A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science
• ISSN: 2573-0142
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Vol.7(CSCW1): Article 38
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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